2016 Edmonds news in review: July-December

We continue with our summary of top 2016 Edmonds news stories, with a look at July-December. You can see our January-June entries here. Notice an important story that we left out of our summary? Let us know in the comments section below.

As of July 1, more than $125,000 had been raised for an Edmonds man who was seriously injured in body surfing accident in Hawaii June 24. Wing Woo, a veteran officer with the King County Sheriff’s Department, was flown by medevac from Hawaii to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.

More than 500 runners of all ages tried to “Beat Brackett” during the second annual 5K run July 4, an Edmonds Kind of Fourth of July signature event sponsored by the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. One special runner in the 5K is designated as George Brackett (named in honor of Edmonds’ founder) with the goal of beating him to the finish line. Last year only 50 runners were able to “Beat Brackett.” This year, Brackett came in 34th, meaning that just 33 runners were faster.

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Julia Wiese captured the sights and sounds of the Edmonds Kind of Fourth of July parade in this photo gallery. Here, Will and Sam Adams with rocket hats perform wheelies on their scooters during the children’s parade.

Pokemon Go, the cell phone game that involves “catching” characters at various locals, swept the nation after it was released July 7 — and Edmonds was no exception. The game got its share of negative press in 2016 when Edmonds police issued a warning not to trespass onto the closed Edmonds fishing pier and wildlife advocates pleaded with players not to disturb resting seal pups.

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Dahlias line the border at the Pauls’ garden on Sunset Avenue, one of the stops on the Edmonds in Bloom tour. (File photo by Larry Vogel)

The City of Edmonds July 22 provided details about an interlocal agreement with Western Washington University and the Association of Washington Cities for a Sustainable Cities partnership, approved by the Edmonds City Council July 19. Under the agreement, Edmonds will receive a helping hand from WWU students and faculty on a range of projects during the 2016-17 academic year – from developing a mobile app for downtown visitors to helping reduce stormwater impacts to the Edmonds Marsh. Edmonds will be the first city in the state of Washington to participate in the Sustainable Cities Partnership.

The car being removed from the crash scene. (Photo courtesy Wally’s Towing)

Two local teens died and three were injured July 22 when their late-model BMW sedan failed to negotiate a hairpin curve on Edmonds’ Olympic View Drive, hitting a tree in the adjacent ravine. Speed was determined to be the primary factor in the collision, which killed the 16-year-old driver, identified by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner as Zachary Langer, and 15-year-old backseat passenger Noah Vires.

Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Carrie Hite shows off a working model at the Green Resource Center demonstrating how permeable paving materials help reduce and control runoff. (File photo by Larry Vogel)

The Aug. 2 primary election proved to be a good night for Democratic incumbents, as expected, in the 32nd and 21st State Legislative Districts, which include Edmonds and parts of Lynnwood. In the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott in Washington’s 7th Congressional District seat, Pramila Jayapal took a commanding lead in Tuesday’s vote count.

Baker uses the control box for the lights to stop all traffic on Main and Sunset when the cars begin to load. (File photo by Julia Wiese)

Aug. 10 marked the end of an era for retired Edmonds police officer Bill Baker, who has been directing ferry traffic at the Main and Dayton street crossings for the past 46 years. In a state budget-savings measure, Washington State Patrol troopers will begin providing traffic control for the Dayton Street crossing, while ferry employees will direct vehicles at Main Street.

It was a garden party at Chase Lake Community School in Edmonds Aug. 20, as dozens of students, parents, teachers and community members gathered to celebrate the school’s raised bed vegetable garden project and enjoy cooking and planting demonstrations. The school’s families were then invited to harvest some of the produce ready for picking, as well as to assist with maintenance of the raised bed gardens, which were built and planted by school volunteers in March 2016.

Members of the Collins family prepare their crab traps after the fishing pier opened Sept. 1. (File photo by Larry Vogel)

Intrepid fisherfolk waited in the driving rain to get out on the newly reopened Edmonds fishing pier at 9 a.m. Sept. 2. Time and weather had taken their toll on the 41-year-old structure, and after years of rust and oxidation the underlying support beams were badly in need of renovation.

A 65-year-old Edmonds woman was recovering at Harborview Medical Center after she was pinned between two parked cars on 5th Avenue South near Girardi’s restaurant Sept. 10. According to police, Ginny Mayer was a pedestrian between two parked cars around 3 p.m. Saturday when a vehicle driven by a 69-year-old Edmonds woman hit the back of one of the cars, forcing that car into Mayer and pinning her between the two parked vehicles. Mayer is recovering from fractures to her pelvis, a tibia and both femurs.

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A 1961 Chevy Corvette was among the hundreds of cars participating in the 16 annual Edmonds Classic Car show sponsored by the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce Sept. 12. (File photo by David Carlos)

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Police with the stolen-car suspect after his arrest. (Photo courtesy Edmonds police)

Downtown Edmonds again has a drive-up U.S. Post Office mail drop box, thanks largely to the efforts of Edmonds City Councilmember Dave Teitzel, Edmonds Postmaster Todd Merriman and Edmonds Head Librarian Richard Suico. The three worked together to find a new location for a drive-up mailbox after residents voiced concerns about the removal of the drive-up mailbox at the Second Avenue post office.

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First responders, parents, students and others gather at Meadowdale High School field to celebrate. (File photo by Larry Vogel)

Edmonds Community College threw a giant 50th anniversary party Sept. 16, and students, alumni, faculty, staff, elected officials and community members gathered to celebrate. Here, the Edmonds CC women’s basketball team with school mascot Triton. (File photo by David Carlos)

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The suspect after he was captured. (Photo courtesy Edmonds police)

Following a search by multiple police agencies, a convicted felon who fled from a stolen car carrying a handgun was captured Sept. 18, a few blocks away from Edmonds-Woodway High School. According to Lynnwood police spokesman Sgt. David Byrd, the suspect — who has a long criminal history — was a passenger in a stolen vehicle that Lynnwood police attempted to stop around 2:20 p.m at 196th Street Southwest and Highway 99.

A man was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries Sept. 25 after a travel trailer caught fire while parked next to the Public Storage facility in the 22500 block of Highway 99 in unincorporated Esperance. The man was outside the trailer attempting to remove a propane tank when the fire broke out around 5:40 p.m., said Fire District 1 spokeswoman Leslie Hynes.

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Guests examine a photo display covering the entire 50-year history of the school. (File photo by Larry Vogel)

Past and present students, teachers, staff and parents came together at Edmonds Elementary Sept. 25 to celebrate 50 years of delivering community-driven education to generations of local kids. The program included remarks by principal Brett Hagen, 26-year veteran teacher Karyn Heinekin and School Board member Diana White, whose four children attended Edmonds Elementary.

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October

Runners of all ages take off at the starting line of the 2016 Celebrate Schools 5K Oct. 1 at Alderwood Mall. The annual event sponsored by the Foundation for Edmonds School District raised $90,000 for school district classroom projects and educational programs. (File photo by Natalie Covate)

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The downed power line at 238th Street Southwest near Firdale Village in Edmonds. (File photo by Brent Tugby)

In his 2017 budget address to the Edmonds City Council Oct. 11, Mayor Dave Earling said that while the city’s revenue picture continues to improve, he is approaching this year’s budget cautiously. “I remind us all we are in the eighth year of what often is a 10-year recovery cycle,” Earling said. “Signals of a slowdown are coming from a variety of levels. Most recently I have heard presentations from the state Office of Financial Management, as well as county and city governments, indicating many of those entities are currently challenged financially.”

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Ed!, the Edmonds Downtown Alliance, announced Oct. 17 it was offering an amnesty program for umbrellas that have gone missing from umbrella stands downtown. Shoppers who may have inadvertently taken the umbrellas home were invited to “drop the off any downtown business, without fear of recrimination, frowns or stink eyes.”

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A Pacific storm hit South Snohomish County around 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15, but not with the high sustained winds and gusts that many feared. Winds began backing off around 7:30 pm, but not before knocking out power to approximately 1,000 south Edmonds customers. According to Aaron Swaney of Snohomish County PUD, most were restored by 8 p.m.

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Photos, flowers and candles were placed on the fishing pier to remember Kasongo.

Edmonds police are investigating a carjacking that took place near Swedish Edmonds Hospital about 5:15 p.m. Oct. 20. According to Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Shane Hawley, the victim — a 17-year-old Mountlake Terrace woman — told police that she picked up the suspect at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood after the woman asked for a ride to the hospital. Once they arrived in the 21600 block of Highway 99, the suspect informed the victim that she wanted her car and that she had a gun.

The Edmonds-Woodway boys cross country team after winning the school district championship Oct. 29. (Photo by Karl Swenson)

Edmonds-Woodway High School’s boys cross country team was named the Fall 2016 3A Academic State Champion by the Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association. The team, coached by Alan Bonney, has a cumulative GPA of 3.820.

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The Edmonds-Woodway High School boys doubles tennis team of Arun Kalohke and Nick Berni on Oct. 28 defeated a team from Shorecrest to punch their ticket to the State 3A tennis tournament next spring. Playing in the consolation bracket of the Wesco 3A District Tournament, Kalohke and Berni defeated Isaac Everett-Adam Ivelia from Snohomish in two sets — 6-2, 6-4 — and then went on to beat Shorecrest’s Jacob Goldstein-Street-Cole Batra 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to earn third place and a tournament berth.

As the Edmonds City Council awaits a response from the Washington State Department of Ecology on the council’s letter supporting a 125-foot setback for the Edmonds Marsh, Council President Kristiana Johnson said Nov. 2 that a minority opinion letter advocating a 65-foot setback has damaged the members’ ability to work together. Johnson also confirmed that she suspended Councilmember Dave Teitzel as the council’s liaison to the Port of Edmonds, which owns property next to the Edmonds Marsh and has been advocating for the 65-foot setback.

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Artist’s rendering of the plaza memorial.

The Edmonds Veterans Plaza is moving forward with a new round of construction bids anticipated over the next 30 days. And they invite supporters to help them raise additional funds for the project. According to an announcement Nov. 2, the Veterans Plaza steering committee has raised $510,000 toward the project. All that remains is an additional $65,000 to ensure that there is adequate funding to complete it.

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Lakes earned a hard-fought 21-14 football victory over Edmonds-Woodway Nov. 4 in a Class 3A state preliminary-round game at Edmonds Stadium, ending the season for Warriors, which finished with a 6-4 record. The Lancers (6-4) advance to play the winner of Saturday night’s game between Southridge and Juanita.

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A 26-year-old Mill Creek area woman was booked into Snohomish County jail Nov. 5 as a suspect in an Oct. 20 carjacking near Swedish Edmonds hospital. Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Shane Hawley said that Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the stolen car at an abandoned house in south Everett, on a routine check of the property.

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Margaret and Mike Wilcox were honored during the Edmonds Museum gala for their 10 years of service managing the Edmonds Museum Farmers Market.

A crowd of about 200 came together Nov. 5 to support work of the Edmonds Historical Museum during the 4th annual Heritage Days dinner. Honored during Saturday night’s festivities were Margaret and Mike Wilcox, who for the past 10 years have managed the Edmonds Museum Farmers Market.

21st District State Rep. Strom Peterson, his wife Maria Montalvo and 21st District Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self pose for photos after it was announced that Peterson and Ortiz-Self had won re-election to their seats (File photo by Teresa Wippel).

Incumbent state representatives in the 32nd and 21st legislative districts, each of which include portions of Edmonds, won re-election easily during general election balloting Nov. 8. In the 7th Congressional District, which includes Edmonds, Pramila Jayapal defeated Brady Walkinshaw to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott. Jayapal, who had 57 percent of the vote in Tuesday returns, becomes the first Indian-American woman elected to Congress.

Citizens had an opportunity Nov. 10 to take a first look at a new draft plan for improving the two-mile stretch of Highway 99 that runs through Edmonds, including proposed changes for zoning and development standards, recommendations for affordable housing, and improvements in signage and transportation infrastructure. Among the plan elements: standardizing commercial zoning to a height limit of 75 feet and modifying current design standards to require wider sidewalks, buildings closer to the property line with ground floor transparency, and an emphasis on side or rear parking.

Students clap following Thomas’s remarks. (File photo by Teresa Wippel)

About 200 students gathered in Edmonds-Woodway High School’s courtyard Nov. 14 to focus on supporting each other in the wake of last week’s election of Donald Trump as U.S. President. “No matter who our president is, Hillary or Donald, we are America, we are people and we make this country,” said speaker Dominique Thomas, an 18-year-old EWHS senior who serves as president of the school’s Black Student Union.

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Edmonds’ Sherwood Elementary has been named a 2016 School of Distinction, one of 94 schools statewide to be honored by the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) and their partner organizations for continuous and substantive improvement. Sherwood is one of the top 5 percent highest-improving schools in Washington state for increased English language arts (ELA) and mathematics achievement over the past five years.

Damage to Michelle Van Tassle’s car, which was parked outside her residence at the corner of 4th Avenue North and Edmonds Street.

Edmonds police said they took several reports Dec. 1 of spray paint and graffiti that damaged cars in the downtown area overnight, along with the Frances Anderson Center. According to Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Shane Hawley, there was “no specific targeting of any one person or location. No writing, just doing damage for the sake of doing damage,” he said.

After 13 years satisfying the collective sweet tooth of Edmonds residents and visitors, Nama’s Candy Store owner Pat McKee announced Dec. 6 he was retiring. The last day for the iconic downtown Edmonds store — famous for both its nostalgia candy and fine chocolates — was set for Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, but the store shut down Dec. 20 after running out of inventory.

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One recommendation of the Economic Development Commission is additional signage to help direct motorists to Edmonds’ existing municipal lots and other public parking areas. (File photo by Larry Vogel)

Edmonds police cited a 52-year-old Edmonds driver for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk following an incident at the intersection of 220th Street Southwest and 100th Avenue West Friday, Dec. 2 that injured a 69-year-old Edmonds pedestrian. According to Edmonds police spokesman Sgt. Josh McClure, the pedestrian, who was crossing legally in the crosswalk when he was struck, was released from Harborview Medical Center Saturday after being treated for a broken arm plus lacerations and scrapes to his face and body.

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A crowd of firefighters and citizens listens to testimony during a public hearing on the draft contract amendment.

The Edmonds City Council Dec. 6 took a closer look at a proposal to change the staffing model for fire and paramedic services –– and also heard opinions from firefighters and citizens who showed up to testify during a public hearing on the plan. The council also unanimously approved the 2017 city budget, which was amended to include a cost-of-living increase for the mayor and also includes several other items passed during earlier meetings, including a part-time parking enforcement officer, a school resource officer at Edmonds-Woodway High School, lighting at Pine Street and Highway 104, and pedestrian safety training.

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Rick Steves

The new multigenerational Edmonds Waterfront Center planned for the site of the Edmonds Senior Center got good news with two new major donations announced in December: First Edmonds-based European travel expert Rick Steves has pledged $2 million to support construction of the new Edmonds Waterfront Center planned through a partnership with the Edmonds Senior Center and the City of Edmonds. Steves made the announcement at an event hosted at his home Dec. 7. During the event, he also pledged a third $1 million in support if the campaign can raise $1 million in matching gifts from the community. Then, on Dec. 20, the senior center announced a donation of $350,000 from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Charitable Trust.

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Retiring Verdant Health Commission Executive Director Carl Zapora addresses a room filled with well-wishers during his retirement party Dec. 8 at the Verdant Community Wellness Center in Lynnwood. “I can’t imagine a more fun adventure than the last six years,” Zapora said.

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Schools were closed for the day and motorists faced slippery conditio

The hills covered with snow made for slippery driving.

ns on Edmonds roadways Friday morning caused by Thursday night’s snowfall. Warmer temperatures turned the snow on most roads to slush by early afternoon Friday.

The Port of Edmonds Commission at its Dec. 13 meeting elected 2017 officers. Commissioners posing following the election, from left: Commissioner Jim Orvis, Vice President David Preston, President Fred Gouge, Secretary Steve Johnson and Commissioner Bruce Faires.

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George and Etta Brackett with four of their six children in front of their home at 2nd and Edmonds Street, circa 1900. (Photo courtesy Edmonds Historical Museum)

A collection of more than 70 original documents dating back to before Edmonds’ founding is shedding new light on the earliest days of our community, and further enriching the city’s already colorful and interesting past. While the records are still being studied in detail, initial examination of them is already closing gaps in the historic record, and providing information about Edmonds’ origins that had previously been only known anecdotally.

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Edmonds resident, Mario Brown, was elected chair of the Snohomish County Democratic Central Committee.

Snohomish County Fire District 1 Chief Scott Cockrum resigned from his position on Dec. 26. Lynnwood Fire and Fire District 1 recently combined administrative staffs, and Cockrum has been chief for both departments. Lynnwood Mayor Nicola Smith said Cockrum has been on family medical leave for a couple of weeks already, and will remain on leave until Jan. 13, 2017. Fire District 1 Asst. Fire Chief Brad Reading has been acting fire chief during that time and will continue in that role after Jan. 13.

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A 62-year-old Edmonds man made his first appearance in Everett District Court Dec. 27 to hear a criminal complaint of second-degree murder domestic violence against him following the death of his 45-year-old female roommate. The second-degree murder complaint filed by the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office identified the victim as Samantha Ellis, whom police said shared an apartment with the suspect, David Lawrence Hoar, in the 8100 block of 236th Street Southwest in Edmonds. Ellis had reportedly been dead for three days in the Edmonds apartment before Hoar called police on Dec. 19.

1 COMMENT

This is a great read for the early days of January. We had a great year in 2016 and I expect the same in 2017. The energy of our community jumps off each article and is captured in the photos. Thank you for embedding links for more reading. This article is a keeper which will be kept in my files!

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